The 2008 election of Barack Obama as president was a watershed moment for many African-Americans, including those who thought such an event unimaginable in their lifetimes. Redefining Black Power, a collection of interviews conducted by Joanne Griffith, considers the extent to which Obama's rise to the White House was a true game changer that helped to redress the political status quo in the U.S.--or else window dressing for a political system that has been known to disenfranchise its poorest whether they are of color or not.
Griffith's stellar introduction places Obama's rise in the historical context of previous generations' struggles for equality and a seat at the table of American power, recounting the emotional heft she and other African-Americans felt at Obama's victory. The interviews that follow are never less than fascinating; they are lively, engaging give-and-takes on the Civil Rights Movement, poverty and under-employment in America and on Obama's place in history. Assessments range from Ramona Africa's view of Obama as a cold careerist--too beholden to the people who elected him and to his own desire to retain power--to Dr. Vincent Harding's more empathetic view, seeing Obama as a force of cohesion for various groups long marginalized by the American political system.
This book displays a full, rich range of responses from America's black intelligentsia, cultural icons, artists and activists who at times question the meaning and the motives of the president rather than simply assume he offers a panacea for issues that have plagued this country since its inception. --Donald Powell, freelance writer